it hasn't been an eye catching start by any means, but he will come good in a box to box rather than creative role.
Of more concern is propper . I'm not sure his style is suited to the premier league.
it hasn't been an eye catching start by any means, but he will come good in a box to box rather than creative role.
Of more concern is propper . I'm not sure his style is suited to the premier league.
After Man City and Leicester I would have agreed with you.
However at Watford on Saturday Propper started to show what he is all about.
He'll prove to be a great signing.
I'm still not convinced by Dale Stephens in that CM position. He has a frustrating tendency to slow every thing down and only seems to pass backwards or sideways. Firmly of the opinion that any half decent CM can do what he does. Offers nothing going forward and the amount of silly free kicks he gives will hurt us soon. Need an upgrade.
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After Man City and Leicester I would have agreed with you.
However at Watford on Saturday Propper started to show what he is all about.
He'll prove to be a great signing.
I'm still not convinced by Dale Stephens in that CM position. He has a frustrating tendency to slow every thing down and only seems to pass backwards or sideways. Firmly of the opinion that any half decent CM can do what he does. Offers nothing going forward and the amount of silly free kicks he gives will hurt us soon. Need an upgrade.
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After Man City and Leicester I would have agreed with you.
However at Watford on Saturday Propper started to show what he is all about.
He'll prove to be a great signing.
I'm still not convinced by Dale Stephens in that CM position. He has a frustrating tendency to slow every thing down and only seems to pass backwards or sideways. Firmly of the opinion that any half decent CM can do what he does. Offers nothing going forward and the amount of silly free kicks he gives will hurt us soon. Need an upgrade.
First piece of football sense written on here for ages
He's a playmaker with a great pass and tactical awareness. Like a much much better version of Darren Currie. Not a forward as such. At Ingolstadt he was the main provider/chance creator in a struggling team. If/when we get the right striker in and Izquierdo pressing alongside Knocky/March I think he will come into his own.
I'm beginning to think more and more that we need Steve Sidwell in midfield for these early games. He is such a claming influence, and of course has that invaluable Premier League experience. He has been there, seen it, and done it. That way the likes of Davy Propper for instance, can be introduced more gradually, as the team gets used to the new division.
We seem to have three right sided midfielders in Dale Stephens, Davy Pröpper, Pascal Groß who are al right-sided and seem to me not very quick by Premier League standards. We have also got Liam Rosenoir and Beram Kayal who are also right sided but both to me seem quicker.
Lets hope they all have football intelligence to make up for what hasn't looked terrifically promising so far.
Agreed. Stephens is the least of our worries. We know he's a quality player. It's just a case of getting up to speed and realising he needs to do every single thing half a second quicker than he did last season. In fact, it shows it isn't just foreigners who can be taken by surprise when it comes to the Premier League's ferocious pace. I'd rather have players who just need to speed up rather than ones who aren't good enough.
in it.
Whilst Stephens is probably the best/one of the best at championship level, he has IMO, surprisingly struggled so far (other than the defence splitting pass to Knocky).
This may be because of Propper (who does seem very similar) or because as you say he has been surprised by the pace.
Whilst like you, I think/hope he'll address his shortcomings it is an unexpected concern.
In fact, after the forward issue I would say the central midfield is the biggest area of worry for me.
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